OK to Fire Postal Worker for Insubordination & Refusing Training

A postal worker was fired for refusing to go to training and calling a supervisor a “f**king liar” on the work floor. The union filed a grievance. The arbitrator said the training method the supervisor directed the worker to participate in was consistent with standard practice at the depot and within the employer’s operations. And the union had never complained about this practice before. The arbitrator also flatly rejected the worker’s claim that she was concerned about safety due to her mental state. Lastly, her language to the supervisor was serious misconduct consisting of “insubordination and profane insolence.” Given that she’d previously gotten a five-day suspension for insubordination, termination was justified here, concluded the arbitrator [Canada Post Corp. v. Canadian Union of Postal Workers (Torpy Grievance), [2012] C.L.A.D. No. 380, Dec. 14, 2012].